Donald Trump is likely to end up as the only political leader awarded the Fifa peace prize after Gianni Infantino was told at Thursday’s meeting of the Fifa council to make major changes or scrap the controversial award.
The Guardian has learned that several council members demanded the award be abolished and others called for the prize to be depoliticised, with Fifa’s football social responsibility committee to make a recommendation before the next council meeting in Doha on 16 December.
Infantino announced the peace prize had been handed to the social responsibility committee at the start of Thursday’s meeting. Council members returned to the subject later in a series of questions about possible conflict of interests at Fifa.
There is a strong view among council members that the peace prize in its current form is tainted by association with Trump, with some raising concerns that the US president could object and create a diplomatic storm if he does not like the identity of its next recipient.
Fifa’s 22-person social responsibility committee is dominated by representatives from countries loyal to Infantino so abolition may be avoided on the grounds it would represent a humiliation for the Fifa president, although there is a widespread acceptance that change is required.
One council member told the Guardian the most likely outcome discussed is the reinvention of the peace prize as an award for an individual within football who has delivered exceptional work promoting social harmony and responsibility, with a provision stating it cannot be given to a politician.
Article two of Fifa’s statutes prohibits any political or governmental interference in football, one of several reasons why honouring Trump last year triggered such a backlash from many members.
Fifa announced the creation of its peace prize last November with a stipulation that it would “reward individuals who have taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace and by doing so have united people across the world”.
Trump was given the award at the men’s World Cup draw in Washington last December, with Infantino presenting the US president with a golden trophy, a medal and a certificate, but the process behind his selection has never been made public.
The social responsibility committee is expected as part of its review to set strict parameters for any surviving award, and to provide details of a nomination and selection procedure.
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